Multiple pin connectors have become increasingly popular as releasable electrical conductor connectors over the past decade because of their capability of accommodating a large number of conductors in a single frame so that all conductors are connected and disconnected simultaneously with a single movement. These multiple pin connectors are manufactured by many connector manufacturers including TRW Corporation.
This type of multiple pin connector is manufactured in a wide variety of pin numbers including 9, 15, 31 and 37 pins, as well as others. They all include male and female connector members, each with an elongated rectangular plate frame. The male connector includes an elongated rectangular pin housing attached to the rectangular frame with rows, usually two or three, of aligned equally spaced pins that extend through apertures in a one-piece guide mounted in that housing. The female connector has a similar elongated housing that is sized to snugly internally receive the elongated male housing. Mounted in the female connector housing is a similar number of rows of tubes that are spaced and sized to snugly receive the pins in the male connector with outer diameters sized to be snugly received in the guide apertures in the male connector.
Because of the narrow, elongated shape of these connectors, disconnection is somewhat difficult because when the technician manually grasps the ends of one connector in attempting to disconnect, the frame usually tilts somewhat making disconnection difficult, but even more importantly, this tilting motion frequently causes bending of the female tubes. If any of the female tubes become bent, it is usually necessary to replace the female connector, and this obviously requires resoldering each of the connectors to the replaced connector.
In some cases, this tilting action causes a sufficient misalignment of one or more of the pins in the male connector to such an extent that they engage and bind on the distal ends of the female tubes in the female connector and such a condition necessitates replacement of the male connector and the time-consuming task of resoldering each and every one of the conductors to the replaced connector.
It is a primary object of the present invention to facilitate disconnection of multiple pin electrical connectors while minimizing the possibility of damage to the female connector tubes and the male connector pins.